Science

Google , now focusing on creating its own autonomous vehicles, is unhappy about what is stipulated in the new policy. Only this week we reported on its most recent license for testing, awarded to Ford. With Silicon Valley tech majors in the state getting closer to rolling out autonomous vehicles, the department of motor vehicles has been fine-tuning its set of safety regulations. (more...)

SpaceX originally planned to launch its Falcon 9 rocket this weekend from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. "There are a number of improvements in the rocket", Space News quoted Musk when he spoke at the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in San Francisco. (more...)

Unfortunately, it seems that this is no longer the plan, as Microsoft confirmed that they will start rolling out the Windows 10 Mobile OS to selected Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 phones in early 2016. "This means we won't be releasing any new builds to Windows Insiders until January, for both PC and mobile". There should be more handsets to come, as any device with the Lumia Denim update and more than 8GB of internal memory should be able to handle Windows 10. (more...)

A court order that temporarily banned WhatsApp in Brazil has been cut short after a judge found the ruling unreasonable. The phone companies say the free WhatsApp calls undermine their own services. Users in Chile and Argentina were also affected by the block. The latter can be refuted by the fact that blocking a single service would not stop people from using online messaging. (more...)

Martin Shkreli - the so-called "most hated man in America" - was arrested Thursday at his NY apartment and charged with securities fraud. He committed "fraud in almost every aspect of hedge fund investments and in connection with his stewardship of a public company", said Andrew Ceresney, SEC enforcement director. (more...)

It's been more than 11 years now that Cassini has been orbiting Saturn and is to make its final flyby of Enceladus on Saturday. The image also shows multiple rings that orbit around the Saturn and is captured in red light through a narrow-angled camera affixed on Cassini spacecraft . (more...)

The bank now sees United States growth picking up pace to 2.4 percent next year despite a slowdown in most other world economies, particularly China, and also stressed future rate hikes would be "gradual" , forecasting 100 basis points throughout 2016. (more...)

Expect Google and other autonomous vehicle makers to lobby hard against the regulations. For now, they specifically exclude fully autonomous driverless cars that wouldn't even have a steering wheel. As a result, the regulations are almost a year overdue. Self-driving cars also would need to be able to detect and defend against cyber-attacks. Though no manufacturer has said the cars are ready yet, the most aggressive suggest a model could be ready within a few years. (more...)

California unveiled precedent-setting draft rules Wednesday that would slow the public's access to self-driving cars of the future until regulators are confident the technology is safe. And all early versions of Google self-driving cars used conventional vehicles. "California's proposed rules are fantastic news for Texas". Alphabet's businesses include connected home products maker Nest, venture capital arm Google Ventures, and Google X, the secretive research arm which houses the ... (more...)

Much talked about Samsung Galaxy S7 is all set to be released in March. Obviously, many said that the look of the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge units look very similar to the iPhone. The S7 is also being rumored to include a high-speed USB-C charging port that allows the phone to charge its battery faster, a retina scanner and a better camera than can take clearer and sharper photos, even in low-light situations. (more...)

As soon as you open a book title, a pop-up will come up in your app and you can activate the Night Light mode here. The feature, when turned on, gradually filters blue light from the screen and replaces it with a warm (amber) light as the sun sets. (more...)

Donald Trump is the front-runner as the latest GOP debate hits, but other candidates are gaining momentum at the right time . He wouldn't say why Donald Trump is wrong on barring Muslims from entering the U.S. Aside from Bush , candidates sidestepped opportunities to take on Trump, although they did not hesitate to tangle with one another. They have gone after each other over immigration and national security and continued the attacks Tuesday night. (more...)

Already established in the US, Twitter Moments presents trends and news events in a content-rich fashion, that you can see without hundreds of other tweets and scan through quickly. The Moments tab will be divided into sections including news, sports and entertainment and was initially launched in October for US users. During a conference call to discuss the company's disappointing financial results, Twitter talked up Moments as one way it intends to grow its user base, which continues to ... (more...)

She claimed on her show this Sunday that "While he was black he was terrible and bad, awful and used to cut off white men's hand, and didn't actually claim his son". Fans turned out in droves to catch a glimpse of boldface names from the film and television industries and beyond, including Pixar chief John Lasseter, music producer Quincy Jones, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and director Ava DuVernay . (more...)

American Tim Kopra and Russian Yuri Malenchenko are also making the six-hour trip to the International Space Station. This morning, Major Peake waved goodbye to his family before the Soyuz rocket blasted off into space from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, at 11.03am. (more...)

The next generation of Star Wars films kicked off with an elaborate debut for The Force Awakens yesterday that served as a proverbial passing of the lightsaber to new fighters dueling in a cinematic galaxy far, far away. Of course, a " Star Wars " red carpet wouldn't be complete without some Stormtroopers. "There's a new hero in town, in a movie that DELIVERS", Rob Lowe posted. (more...)

On Sunday night, president Wang Qunbin said the probe is "mostly about his personal affairs [and not] related to the company". Caixin magazine reported on Thursday, citing people it didn't identify, that Mr Guo's companies had lost contact with him. (more...)

The names of the selected candidates would be announced sometime in mid-2017. And instead of looking for sky-bound candidates to fly off to the moon, this time, the space agency wants its new astronauts to discover facts about Mars. They must be willing to relocate to Houston, where the Johnson Space Center is located. The annual salary for the position ranges from $66,000 to $145,000; flying experience and advanced degrees are not required for the position, nor is military experience or ... (more...)

According to CNN Money , the deal will give Apple exclusive rights to stream concerts from her 1989 World Tour on Apple Music. Has the conclusion of Taylor Swift's 1989 World Tour left you utterly bereft? " I have a little surprise for you ", along with a short video message introducing the upcoming film. (more...)

It is his company Faraday Future's bid to be one of the Tesla competitors in the U.S. Faraday Future plans to unveil its prototype at the Consumer Electronics Show in January in Las Vegas. The total economic impact of Faraday's arrival is projected to be $85 billion over 20 years, mostly through wages. "Is this good for Nevada?" Tax incentives to seal the deal would need authorization from Nevada lawmakers, who approved a $1.3 billion incentive package in a special session past year to ... (more...)